TroutLegend » CoC Redux

CoC Redux: Double Rib Slim Profile Nymphs

DejonHamann — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:49:11 +0000

The following patterns were introduced to me by Kevin Compton of www.comptonflies.com . Kevin is a phenomenal Fly Tier and spends most of his time traveling around the world slinging the finest of competition hooks from a little black backpack. You’ll find him on the banks chatting with the best competitive fisherman in the world from New Zealand to Boulder, CO. Keep an eye on his online offering as the next generation described to me will most certainly be the most advanced resource on fly fishing hooks ever concieved online.

Sometimes relatively minor changes to age old fly patterns can make all the difference on pressured trout streams. Lately here at chrome head quarters we’ve been concentrating on 2 important factors in nymph construction which are getting a fair amount of attention in competitive fly fishing circles. The first is simply achieving a “slim profile.” Most flies call for layered dressings that produce an end product that is fairly heavy in the mid section. Utilizing Biots is one direction toward insuring a slim bodied nymph – just using thread is another. “Double Ribs” are the second and the sky’s the limit. Start with normal materials like wire and branch off to rubber legs. Play with variegated materials for even more realistic body looks!

CoC Redux: “Micro Nymphs”

DejonHamann — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:58:32 +0000

I recently spent a week on a waterway widely known as holy land for the religion of fly fishing. Often difficult, never easy this river offers fly fishing people around the world a chance to test their wits and skills against wild trout with a prolific and quickly changing aquatic insect food base. For some time now my “fly fishing mentor” has been professing the effective importance of “Micro Nymphs” – tiny little mayfly imitations tied on minute hook sizes not even manufactured by many of the top suppliers. The hook is so small just an extra turn of thread will throw the proportions out of whack. There are few feelings in the world as satisfying as the moment of unbridled discovery! I don’t mean the accumulation of a small solution or tool, but rather the moment when a discovery flies into your living radar screen from an origin you didn’t even know existed. Although my mentor could point the way, I would never have gained the mastery of this moment unless I spent those countless hours with the material of this epiphany. Hours upon hours at the bench and even more in the stream. But all of that led up to a moment. A single moment when the lightbulb went on and I could see the solution. Now my vision has changed. The information was always there though …right in front of my eyes. We often have to pick and choose our battles as we ride the ever lengthening road toward perfection. Learning how, when, where, and why to fish Micro Nymphs has been a small battle won in this camp.

CoC Redux: “The Canada National Fly Fishing Championships…”

DejonHamann — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:24:51 +0000

Ladies and gentle folk of the web I have good reason for my month long lapse in posting. I recently returned from an adventure up in the northern territories and this time I have something to show for it! The setting was a picturesque ski village nestled deep in the wilderness of French Speaking Quebec. The event was the Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships. With a bit of luck I found myself on one Team Equipe Airflo – a team with a long running heritage of securing gold and silver medals in Canada’s most important fly fishing event. 1 week prior to the competition commencement I drove the 9 hour hike up to team captain Randy Taylor’s (Fly Fishing Canada President) secret practice chateau and met fellow teammates Donald Thom and John Huff. Mark Anderson, a writer for Outdoor Canada arrived the day before competition soaking up all the venue intelligence, or lack there-of we could gather, and the remaining scotch to round out our 5 man team. A better group of anglers and all around good blokes I have not had the fortune of meeting. I had scripted a longer essay on the subject but windows vista decided it looked tasty and ate it. So, in an effort to reconstitute my posting schedule I’ll give you the shot gun synopsis. The venue was spectacular and I have never experienced such a fluid organization from the coordinator Jim Iredale down to the very helpful and always on time controllers. The lakes, situated on a pay-to-play reserve were stocked to the brim and ranged from a fully fledged shoot-out to “blanks for everybody.” The scenery was unmatched in grandeur. The river, El Diable which means The Devil was just that – the most difficult wading any of the competitors, many of which have traveled the world over could ever remember. But, with many willing stocked brookies swinging a team of dry flies proved not only effective, but loads of fun even under the pressure of competition. Fly Fishing Team USA made a gracious visit to the competition and snatched team gold with their methodical “power team” image. However, the real story was Fly Fishing Canada’s Youth Squad which not only grabbed Team Silver, but placed the top two individual Gold and Silver finishers… truly a spectacular finish in the face of this field of competitors and adverse venues.Oh yeah! Did I mention my team scraped together a Bronze Medal? Sure, people say finishing 3rd is like kissing your sister, but hey – it’s a beginning! I placed 16th overall and brought home a deeper understanding of what it really takes to compete on the highest level of competitive fly fishing. So many stories to tell, but so little time. Maybe I’ll grab a fine bottle of scotch some time soon and tell you about all the “good angling!” For now enjoy some pics from the event. Cheers!